10 Years of TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb Rock N Roll Murdershow

Cherry-Veen Zine would not exist without TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb Rock N’ Roll Murdershow. My (Veen) very first friend date with Cherry was this very event, 4 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was dressed as a Hershey Kiss, she was dressed as Wednesday Adams. We laughed, we danced, we had a fucking great time. This year (on 10/26 at Johnny Brenda's)marks the TENTH (!!) anniversary of this spectacularly spooky event, and we got the inside scoop for ya from the mastermind behind the whole event, Dan Bruskewicz (TJ Kong, himself)!!

“The idea was always to throw an enormous party that brought different local scenes together,” Dan explains. We are obviously huge proponents of bringing the Philly community together, so we love that this was the goal all along. We’re aware of the frustration that comes with being pigeonholed into a specific genre. It’s pretty easy to end up playing the same gigs with the same bands at the same venues. Dan wanted to do something that would break everyone out of that mold. And DAMN did he do it. “we set out to do a once-a-year celebration of Philly bands that threw normal booking "rules" out the window and was just a fun rager.”

"We set out to do a once a-year celebration of Philly bands that threw normal booking 'rules' out the window and was just a fun rager."

Over the past decade, Dan has certainly given Philadelphia fun rager after fun rager with plenty of memorable experiences. “Ugh God playing on top of their van. The very very early days of Underground Arts when it wasn't a bar or a venue but just an enormous dark basement with a black stage in the back. Purples dressed as Sesame Street. Manterial Girl voguing in the crowd. Lantern and their huge homemade genitals. Ali Wadsworth as Fartman. Red 40 and the whole crew as Baywatch. Kirby Sybert as Picasso's blue period.” This year, Dan is shaking things up a little and moving on over to Johnny Brenda’s. JB’s is one of our absolute FAVORITE venues in the city, and Dan shares this sentiment, “Johnny Brenda's has always been our favorite Philly stage. We wanted to make sure and do at least one Murdershow there and we thought number 10 is probably the best time to do that. We love Underground Arts and the early murdershows were so connected to that physical space. It was a bittersweet move for sure but you can expect some very special performances that incorporate the entire building at Johnny Brenda's, I'll just say that.”

"you can expect some very special performances that incorporate the entire building at Johnny Brenda's, I'll just say that."

This is pretty intriguing to us, and we can’t wait to see what Dan has in store for us to celebrate ten years of Murdershow-ing! Honestly, if this isn’t enough to entice you (you stone cold fox, you), come out for the INCREDIBLE talent that will be performing. “Ali Awan and his band are truly catching fire and to be able to combine a bill with them and Ali Wadsworth WITH Aramingosmith playing ONLY Aerosmith cover songs is something you won't see ever again. PLUS we have some pretty special Kong surprises designed just for Johnny Brenda's and our set. It's gonna be a good one.”

I can personally attest to these shows, I look forward the the 10th Annual Murdershow and all the tricks and treats it will bring!! One last thing to note: “COSTUMES ARE A MUST!” Dan let us know that it doesn’t matter if you bought it, made it, found it, stole it. Show up in costume and add to the Halloween festivities! Grab your tickets here! And check out the facebook event for more details here!

Dave Cope and the Sass Bringing on the Sunshine

The days might be getting shorter, but you can add some sunshine to your day by listening to Dave Cope and The Sass. The latest self titled album came out about a month ago and it’s been keeping me smiling and intrigued the whole month through. The music has a feeling of nostalgia associated with it. And not in a “trying to be something from another time” way, but in a genuine and authentic way that really puts me in my 9 year old body, in the car with my dad, listening to Boston on repeat. I got the chance to sit down with Dave recently at Milkcrate Cafe to reveal all of my theories about his album to him.

So here’s the overarching theme: Our lives in terms of relationships tend to exist in cycles. The entire album tells the story of this relationship cycle that we all go through. You can start at any song and follow it all the way through and the story would still make sense. The first song on the album, Seeing Things, is actually the “end” of the story. The main character is looking back at everything he's learned, and everything he did. He’s been through the highs and lows, he’s loved and been broken. He’s healed himself and now he’s seeing things clearly and learning from it. “It’s that feeling of love that he feels for one person transmuted into a love for everybody...the person is realizing, if I can take that love that I feel and then turn it into a song or turn into something for everybody, then that’s what giving really is. That’s what I can learn from taking.” The rest of the album is a memory, leading up to this moment of understanding. He’s looking back on this relationship and putting allllll the pieces together.

“It’s that feeling of love that he feels for one person transmuted into a love for everybody...the person is realizing, if I can take that love that I feel and then turn it into a song or turn into something for everybody, then that’s what giving really is. That’s what I can learn from taking.”

The next few songs, My Way Out, Living in the Middle, and High, are all centered around self development. The character is learning how to be himself in the world, and these songs follow that journey. In My Way Out, the character is faced with how to handle the insanity and overwhelming nature of living in the world right now. He comes to the conclusion that “going crazy was [his] way out of the madness.” Dave explained it this way: sometimes the only way out is through. In this case, in order for the character to deal with madness of the world in which he lives, he has to let himself be a little crazy. And where Living in the Middle lacks that “crazy” feeling, showcasing a bit more of a mundane existence, High makes up for it, exploring society’s need to drop out and numb themselves with other substances, whether that be alcohol, drugs or even love and attention.

If Your Mama Only Knew finally introduces the love interest. Based on Dave's actual experience as a teacher, this is a more innocent look at what kids might see as “rebelling.” Cutting class, sneaking out of the house, that kind of thing. This song is a beautiful contrast to Nine Lives, which follows the same character into her adulthood, where her rebellious nature can’t really be considered cute or innocent anymore.

NOW THESE NEXTS SONGS Y’ALL. THEY GOT TO ME. Show Me Your Love is a song about ALMOST getting it right. You know how it is. You’ve gone through the relationship highs and the break up lows. You swear you’ll see the damn red flags next time. You’re guarded, you got that wall UP. So maybe you need a little more coaxing to let someone in again. Maybe it’s more of a “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” attitude. And by that I mean, yeah, I like you, but I’m not going to TELL you that until you show me WITHOUT a doubt that you like me. Because I’m not taking any chances or risking any heartbreak this time. That’s what this song is about. And it’s definitely unfair to the love interest. Ideally you should be getting as much as you’re giving, right? Well this guy is not into that. Dave tells me that loving someone just because they love you is also part of the problem he’s trying to address. Loving someone just because they show you love and attention can get you into just as much trouble as giving too much without getting anything back.

And that brings me to Dog Days. This is the song about the good times. When everything is relaxing and loving and wonderful. I really love this song. There’s nothing in the lyrics or the music to indicate that the relationship is doomed, but somehow I got the feeling that it would end anyway. I’m guessing this is because the song is comparing the relationship to the dog days of summer...and summers inevitably end...so even when you’re trying to enjoy the moment you still know it’s going to be over.

Well that makes a lot of sense.

Moving on the THE BREAK UP SONG. Josephine really is the perfect angry break up song. It’s the stage of the breakup that is oscillating back and forth between three different stages at once; denial, anger and bargaining. The character exclaims how much he loves Josephine throughout the song, while also throwing in little jabs about how she’ll never see him again and the little things he really doesn’t like about her.

And now, we come to the finale of the album, Brings My Whole Day Down, followed by From the Moment… In Brings My Whole Day Down, our character is doing pretty well! He’s over Josephine, he’s enjoying his day, he’s not even thinking about this girl who broke his heart. Josephine? Who’s Josephine?

And then.

“I sit next to a couple so young and in love now, they’re kissing and holding hands. And I remember you are gone. And you are never coming back to me again”

Oh, that Josephine. Yup. This song cut to the core of me. Healing is definitely not a linear process. It takes time and usually when you take two steps forward, you take one back. This song addresses that idea in such an organic way. leading into the final, more introspective song, From the Moment… which seems to me to be the character almost admitting defeat. That he doesn’t really know everything and that life hurts sometimes. A lot. It’s beautifully brings us all the way back around to square one. It’s the perfect place to start.

I HIGHLY recommend listening to the album again and again. It’s really about a journey to understanding how to love and how to be in this world. As Dave explained it, “So much in life is controlling our reaction to things.” Sometimes we have to relive the same cycle until we’ve learned what we needed to know. The album as a whole tells a story, but even as we were talking about it, the story seemed to be evolving. Let it evolve for you, too.

You listen to Dave Cope and the Sass here. And follow him on instagram here!

Beardfest gets urban: what to expect at citybeard 2019

From the founders of Beardfest comes Citybeard, a day long music and arts festival in Northern Liberties. Located at the Ukranian American Citizens’ Association (Ukie Club for short) on Saturday October 12, the festival will feature Beardfest crowd favorite Moon Hooch and a whole lineup of Philly musicians, artists, and workshops. The festival is organized by Out of the Beardspace band members Zach LoPresti, Sam Gutman, and Jeremy Savo. For more details about the upcoming festival, the zine spoke to guitarist Jeremy Savo, one of the Citybeard’s principal organizers and curators.

Since he was twelve years old, Jeremy knew he wanted to pursue a career in music. “I actually remember the first day of guitar class [in middle school]. I became completely hooked on it from day one,” he says. When he was 16, he started teaching private guitar lessons and has been offering classes ever since. Jeremy met his future Out of the Beardspace band members at the School of Rock, and toured with them for the first time in high school alongside professional musicians Jon Anderson (of the band Yes) and Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction).

Beardfest, the band’s annual music festival, started shortly after the members all graduated high school. It began as house shows in Zach’s parents’ backyard and grew into a three-day camping experience in South Jersey’s Paradise Lakes Campground. Now a serious, locally-recognized organization, Beardfest hosts friends’ bands and touring bands alike, enlists vendors from all over town, and showcases workshops and guest lecturers who round out a complete creative-immersion experience. “We’ve grown up with this festival,” says Jeremy, and after graduating from The University of the Arts in 2017, he decided it was time for the festival to expand. With Citybeard, Jeremy and the team hope to create a festival that’s more accessible to people living in the city they love, Philadelphia. “I’m interested in having something closer to the population center, easier to get to, and cheaper...while still being immersive, fun, and hopefully deeply meaningful to the community,” he says.

Except for headliners Moon Hooch, the rest of the bands performing at Citybeard are Philly locals. Experimental electronic/world music hybrid group WorldTown Sound System will perform, featuring Boom Room founder and engineer Gary Dann. “They’ve become part of the family,” says Jeremy. Another part of this big family is Johnny Showcase & The Mystic Ticket, a ten-piece absurdist soul outfit. “Johnny Showcase is such a big character,” says Jeremy. They play throwback funk with “amazing outfits, big stage personas, and hilarious antics.” Also featured in the lineup is zine alum and talented jazz singer-songwriter Taylor Kelly.

Aside from the music, Citybeard also hosts art exhibitions and workshops. Inspired by his time spent studying permaculture design in Costa Rica with Envision Festival co-founder Stephen Brooks, Jeremy wanted to add a social and cultural mission to the festival. He envisions Citybeard as not only being a music festival, but also “like a university, but in a really cool setting.” Workshop and vending coordinator Robyn Mello and the art team ROMPUS bring their educational resources to Citybeard and Beardfest, making this festival not only a place to hear music, but also to learn about it. One of Citybeard’s featured guests is music theory Youtuber Adam Neely who is leading a philosophical talk entitled “What Does Music...Like...Mean?” Citybeard will also be encouraging young music students from the educational charity Rock to the Future to attend the festival by offering free tickets to students interested in learning more about the music business.

Citybeard 2019 will be a beacon of music culture in the heart of the city. All our welcome to attend and experience music in a number of different ways. We’ll see you there on October 12th! Tickets are sold here: beardfest.net/tickets.